Crash site a 321. “I know I won’t come back”: in memory of the victims of the plane crash over Sinai. Getting closer to the truth

On the morning of October 31, 2015, it became known that a plane had disappeared over the Sinai Peninsula Russian airline"Kogalymavia", traveling from Egyptian Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg. There were 224 people on board. At first, the wording was cautious - “no contact”, “disappeared from radar screens” - no one wanted to believe that we were talking about a plane crash, which was destined to become the worst in history domestic aviation.

On the anniversary of the death of the A321 airliner over the Sinai Peninsula, Izvestia recalls everything that is known about the disaster to date and pays tribute to the victims of the crash.

The death of A321: the beginning

On the same day, October 31, 2015, fragments of a fallen airliner are discovered in the desert - when they fell to the ground, they were scattered over a radius of 40 km.

After the first reports of the plane's death were received in the media, rescuers were forced to turn off the passengers' phones that survived the impact with the ground - the relatives of the passengers on board were still trying to call their loved ones.

Of the 217 passengers and seven crew members, none survived - in such a terrible disaster this was impossible.

Darina Gromova

However, the true symbol of the tragedy was Darina Gromova, who died in a plane crash, whose photograph quickly spread throughout the world’s media. She was 10 months old.

She became the youngest victim of the terrorist attack, but far from the only child on board the crashed plane: in total, according to the Federal Air Transport Agency, there were 25 children and another 192 adult passengers on board the plane. Most of them were residents of the northwestern part of Russia.

The commander of the plane was 48-year-old Valery Nemov, who by that time had flown more than 12 thousand hours, almost 4 thousand of them in Airbus aircraft A321. The co-pilot was 45-year-old Sergei Trukhachev, whose flight time was 5,641 hours. Flight attendants Valentina Martsevich, Andrey Belomestnov, Irina Olaru, and Alexey Filimonov worked in the aircraft cabin.

Terrorist attack

As soon as the death of the airliner becomes obvious, journalists and experts express the first versions of what happened. The most common ones sound first - piloting error, technical malfunction of the aircraft. It becomes known that several years before the incident, the tail of the plane was damaged while landing in Cairo - after that the plane underwent repairs, but the information quickly spreads across the media.

Airline officials issued a statement that the plane was fully operational. They are the first to voice the version that it required external influence to destroy it. She doesn't receive much support - it's hard to believe and probably too scary.

But on November 16, the head of the FSB, Vladimir Bortnikov, officially confirmed the version of a bomb planted on board the plane. This information is also confirmed by British intelligence data. A few days before this, on November 6, flights of Russian and some world airlines to Egypt were completely suspended.

Place 31A

On November 7, it became known that when deciphering the flight recorders, an incomprehensible noise was heard in the last seconds of the recording. Until then, pilot negotiations are taking place as normal. Afterwards, the plane begins to sharply lose the altitude gained in the half hour that has passed since takeoff.

On November 17, immediately after the FSB confirmed the version of the terrorist attack, Russia appealed to the world community with a request for assistance in identifying the terrorists involved in the destruction of the plane. A reward of $50 million was promised for information that could help apprehend the criminals. Later, information appears about the detention of two employees of Sharm el-Sheikh airport. They are suspected of helping to smuggle the bomb on board the plane. At the same time, the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Minister civil aviation Egypt denies this information.

Russia, Egypt, France, Germany, Ireland, the USA, as well as representatives of Airbus Industries.

On November 18, the Dabiq magazine, which claims to be the official news organ of the terrorist group ISIS banned in Russia, publishes an article allegedly describing the process of creating a device placed on board an airplane - according to the publication, it was made using a soda can.

Egypt is creating its own special commission to investigate the plane crash. In December 2015, she announced the completion of the preliminary report, which she sent to all participants in the investigation. It eliminates the possibility of unauthorized access to the aircraft.

In February 2016, the country's President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi stated that the cause of the disaster was a terrorist attack - Egypt for the first time officially recognizes this fact.

At the beginning of September this year, the commission completes the laying out of fragments of the crashed plane - as a result, it is possible to determine the point from which the destruction of the plane began. According to the examination, the explosion occurred in the area of ​​rows 30–31. Presumably, the point of the explosion was location 31A. The power of the explosive device was 1 kg of TNT equivalent.

The investigation into the disaster has not yet been completed - the international commission of inquiry continues its work, in addition, the Main Directorate for Investigation of Particularly Important Cases of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation continues its investigation, the press service of the department reported this on Monday, October 31.

Consequences

Security checks at Egypt's airports followed shortly after the crash and revealed problems with air travel safety. The Russian side stated that flights will not be restored until all the shortcomings are eliminated, while it is not known exactly what kind of shortcomings we are talking about. Egypt responded by stating its readiness to comply with the requirements of the Ministry of Transport, but the country's authorities noted that this would take time.

The possible resumption of flights to Egypt has subsequently been reported several times, but none has yet been confirmed. According to experts, air traffic will not be restored before the spring of 2017.

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Flight 9268: Garden of Memory

In September of this year, the competition for the design of a monument in memory of the victims ended in St. Petersburg. It became the “Garden of Memory” project - at the request of the family members of the victims, the image of the plane and other direct reminders of the disaster will not be used when creating the memorial. Instead, it is planned to plant 224 trees in the garden - according to the number of those killed in the disaster. The memorial was laid on October 30, 2016 on Rumbolovskaya Mountain in Vsevolozhsk Leningrad region.

The victims of the disaster are remembered not only in Russia: in Egypt, on October 30, a funeral procession was held in memory of the tragedy. Residents of Sharm el-Sheikh, the country's Minister of Civil Aviation Sherif Fakhti, the Russian Ambassador to Cairo Sergei Kirpichenko, and deputies of the Egyptian parliament, accompanied by the beat of drums, laid flowers at a poster with the names of everyone who boarded the airliner on flight 9268 from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg.

“On behalf of the entire political leadership of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the government of the country, allow me to express my sincere condolences to the families of the victims and honor their memory. We are extremely sorry for what happened and mourn. Sharm el-Sheikh and all of Egypt will never forget the victims of this flight,” said the head of the country’s aviation ministry, Sherif Fathi.

Commemorative events will also be held in 13 regions of Russia, whose residents died in the plane crash. Memorial services for the victims will be held in churches, and a worship cross will be illuminated at the Holy Trinity Izmailovsky Cathedral in St. Petersburg (where 147 of the 224 victims of the disaster lived).

Today's disaster in Egypt has become the largest in terms of the number of victims in history. modern Russia. Let us recall other serious losses in emergencies involving Russian aircraft:

170 people class="_">(160 passengers and 10 crew members) died on August 22, 2006 in a plane crash near the village of Sukhaya Balka (Donetsk region, Ukraine). The Tu-154 aircraft of Pulkovo Airlines was flying from Anapa to St. Petersburg. The cause of the disaster was the incorrect actions of the crew in difficult weather conditions, as a result of which the plane fell into a flat tailspin.

145 people class="_"> (136 passengers, 9 crew members) died on July 3, 2001 when a Tu-154 was landing at Irkutsk airport. The plane of the Vladivostok-Avia airline was flying Vladivostok – Irkutsk – Yekaterinburg. The cause of the disaster was recognized as the erroneous actions of the crew.

141 people class="_">, including 11 crew members, died on August 29, 1996 in the crash of a Tu-154M of Vnukovo Airlines, flying on the route Moscow - Longyearbyen (Spitsbergen). During landing, the plane crashed into Mount Opera, 14.2 km from the airport. The cause of the disaster was crew error.

125 people class="_">(116 passengers, 9 crew members and 1 person on the ground) died on January 3, 1994 near Irkutsk as a result of a Tu-154M plane crash of the Baikal airlines on a flight to Moscow. 3.5 minutes after takeoff, one of its engines caught fire. The pilots turned the plane back to Irkutsk, but it lost control and crashed into a dairy farm. The cause of the disaster was said to be technical problems.

125 people class="_"> (120 passengers, 5 crew members) died on the night of July 9, 2006 when landing in Irkutsk Airbus A310 of Siberia Airlines, flying from Moscow. The plane skidded off the runway, crashed into nearby garages and exploded. The reason was the erroneous actions of the crew.

52 people class="_"> (46 passengers, 6 crew members) died on November 17, 2013 in international airport Kazan. Boeing-737-500 operated a flight on the route Moscow - Kazan. The airliner crashed during landing. Among the dead are the son of the President of Tatarstan, the head of the FSB Directorate of Tatarstan and the family of the famous sports commentator Roman Skvortsov.

44 people class="_"> (36 passengers, 8 crew) died on September 7, 2011. The Yak-42 airliner was transporting the Lokomotiv hockey team from Yaroslavl to Minsk. During the takeoff run, the plane rolled off the runway and took off from the ground 400 meters beyond the end of the runway. The flight lasted several seconds: the airliner gained a height of no more than 5–6 meters, then collided with a radio beacon, crashed into the ground on the bank of the Tunoshonka River and exploded. Some of the debris and the tail fell into the river.

Two years ago, on October 31, 2015, an A-321 plane crashed over the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt). All 224 people on board were killed. 25 of them are children.

At the time of the tragedy, 48 people from the Leningrad region, including four children, were flying on flight 9268 from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg. These are residents of the villages of Sovetsky, Gostilitsy, Romanovka, residents of Shlisselburg, Vsevolozhsk, Gatchina, Vyborg, Sosnovy Bor, Slantsy, Volkhov.

Has disappeared from the radar screens

At 7:14 a.m., the Kogalymavia airline A-321, flying from Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt to St. Petersburg, disappeared from radar screens 20 minutes after takeoff. There are 217 passengers and 7 crew members on board. Of these, four are Ukrainians, one is Belarusian, and all the rest are Russians.

At 7:14 near Larnaca, according to preliminary data, communication with the plane was lost, and the aircraft's mark disappeared from the radar screens.

Rosaviatsia



Catastrophe

A couple of hours later, Egyptian authorities confirmed the crash. Russian plane in central Sinai.

The liner was completely destroyed, its debris scattered over an area of ​​13 kilometers. 40 ambulances arrived at the crash site to evacuate victims of the disaster.

According to rescuers, the chances of finding survivors are extremely low.


Everyone died

Reuters reported four survivors. Hope quickly faded - official data arrived. Everyone died.

The smallest victim in terms of age, but not in importance, was 10-month-old Darina Gromova from Gatchina. A photo of her against the background of the liners, which the girl’s mother took before being sent to Egyptian resort, will become a symbol of the Sinai tragedy.

The child looks at the planes standing on the ground. The caption under the photo is “ Main passenger».

Darina's father and mother were also on board the A-321 and died along with her.

Grief and Unity

The tragedy left no one indifferent. In Pulkovo and to the Alexander Column, people brought flowers, letters of condolences and children's toys. There are so many of them that later hundreds of workers will be needed to remove all the spontaneous memorials.

To the sky on Palace Square released hundreds balloons in memory of the dead.

About the causes of the disaster

Soon after the tragedy, different versions of what happened began to appear.


- Pilot error

The crew was commanded by 48-year-old Valery Nemov, who has over 12 thousand flight hours, of which more than 3,860 were on the Airbus A321. The aircraft was flown by experienced and highly qualified pilots. The version of pilot error was ruled out.


- Technical problem

Before departure, the aircraft underwent maintenance. No faults found.


- Terrorist attack

The head of the Russian FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, puts forward the first official version— the disaster occurred as a result of a terrorist attack.

A homemade explosive device with a capacity of up to 1 kg of TNT went off. Traces of explosives were found on the wreckage of the plane.

Later, the Russian side will announce a reward of $50 million for information about the terrorists.

The murder of our people in Sinai is among the bloodiest in terms of the number of crime victims. And we will not wipe away the tears from our souls and hearts. This will stay with us forever. But this will not stop us from finding and punishing the criminals.

Vladimir Putin

It is still unclear who ordered the terrible crime. No performers found. According to the most common version, the Sinai branch of the Islamic State (*terrorist organization banned in Russia) was behind the terrorist attack.


Putin: stop flights to Egypt until “the proper level of aviation safety is established”

In November 2015, Russian authorities completely blocked air traffic with Egypt. Remaining in Arab country The tourists were taken out at the end of their tours. You were only allowed to take on board the plane hand luggage, the luggage of passengers was taken out by special flights of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Also, flights with Egypt were interrupted by Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and a number of German airlines.


"Kogalymavia"

In the spring of 2016, the Federal Air Transport Agency banned internal and international flights airline, despite the fact that its involvement in the tragic incident has not been proven.

Relatives of those killed in the plane crash over Sinai have filed a class action lawsuit against the tour operator Kogalymavia airline in the amount of €1.4 billion.

Memory of an interrupted flight

On the eve of the second anniversary of the tragedy, October 28, a monument to the victims of the disaster was unveiled at the Serafimovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg.

The monument was named “Folded Wings”. On one is the flight number, on the other is the date of the disaster. In front of them is a sarcophagus with a note: “To the crew members and passengers of flight 7K9268 who died at the hands of terrorists on October 31, 2015 in the skies over Sinai (Egypt).”

Meanwhile, today, October 31, a “Garden of Memory” was opened on Rumbolovskaya Gora in the Vsevolozhsk district of the Leningrad region for the victims of the terrorist attack. The memorial is a corridor made of metal plates on which the names of all the victims are carved.

The monument is surrounded by red-leaved maples. 25 fir trees are planted separately, they symbolize the memory of the dead children.

The Russian FSB classifies the incident as a terrorist attack, and the investigation is still ongoing. Air traffic between Russia and Egypt was stopped after the disaster and has not resumed to this day.

On the morning of October 31, 2015, the largest disaster in the history of domestic aviation occurred. The plane of the Russian company Kogalymavia took off from the Egyptian Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, but was blown up by terrorists over the Sinai Peninsula. 224 people on board died - children, wives, husbands, fathers, mothers... Many of them, before departure, left photographs and notes on their pages on social networks, which involuntarily became farewell notes.

The Airbus A321 airliner was performing charter flight 7K-9268 on the route Sharm el-Sheikh - St. Petersburg. 23 minutes after takeoff, radio contact with the crew was lost, and the airliner itself disappeared from radar. Egyptian search teams discovered the wreckage of the plane near the town of Nehel. All people on board the plane, including 25 children and 7 crew members, were killed.

The cause of the tragedy, according to the Russian FSB, was a terrorist attack for which the international terrorist group “Islamic State”, banned in the Russian Federation, took responsibility. As experts later established, an improvised explosive device was planted in the compartment oversized luggage at the tail of the plane. The explosion led to the complete destruction of the aircraft. By the time the fragments of the aircraft hit the ground, almost all the people on board had already died from barotrauma.

Most passengers tragic flight were residents of North-West Russia, mainly from St. Petersburg, Leningrad, Novgorod and Pskov regions. Also on board were four citizens of Ukraine and one citizen of Belarus.

The people who boarded the liner were young and full of vitality. Some of them celebrated their wedding anniversary in Egypt, others decided to celebrate their birthday in southern country. Many went to the resort with their entire families, with children. And so they died - all together. There were also those who decided to go on holiday abroad for the first time. And this trip was the last...

“I know I won’t come back”

Spouses Olga and Yuri Shein celebrated ten years of marriage in Egypt - the whole family flew with three children: 11-year-old Zhenya, 10-year-old Leroy and 3-year-old Nastya. Last photo, posted on social networks, captured the father of the family climbing the plane. In his arms is his daughter Nastya. The caption under the photo “We are flying home” was made 11 minutes before departure. They never returned home...

The young Gromov family from the city of Gatchina, Leningrad Region, died in the disaster. The youngest passenger on the flight was their daughter, ten-month-old Darina. Before flying out on vacation, the baby's mother published a photo of the child standing near the glass at the St. Petersburg airport and carefully watching the planes. “The main passenger,” Tatyana Gromova touchingly signed a photo of her baby. It was this photograph, published by many world publications, that became a visual symbol of the A321 tragedy. The baby's body was found by rescuers 30-35 km from the epicenter of the crash.

Vladimir and Victoria Golenkov went to the sea with their little daughter Diana. She was only four years old. On the social network, Vladimir’s page published footage of a happy family life.

Among the dead was the deputy head of the city of Pskov and deputy of the Pskov City Duma Alexander Kopylov. He gave the trip to his wife for her birthday. Together they died...

“I’m still waiting for my daughter”

Irina Evgenievna found strength and told us about that terrible day when she lost her only daughter, Elvira Voskresenskaya. The 28-year-old girl worked at the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in St. Petersburg as an inspector in the supervisory activities department. I went on vacation with my friend. Irina Zakharova learned about the plane crash from her brother when she and her husband were going to the airport to meet their daughter.

In the morning, completely calmly, without any bad thoughts, we began to get ready for the dacha, which is located not far from Pulkovo. Just in time to meet you at the airport on the way home. Our daughter’s husband could not meet us - he is also an employee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and that day he had just taken duty for a day. When we had already reached the ring road, my brother called me to clarify whether my daughter had arrived or not. I said that she was arriving today at 12 o'clock. He says: “What flight is she on?” I say I don't know which one. He, apparently not yet assessing the situation, says: “You know, some plane disappeared from radar over Sinai. Where is she flying from? I say from Sharm el-Sheikh. He says: “You know, some plane that took off from Sharm el-Sheikh disappeared from the radar”...

I don't even want to remember what happened. It’s just that at the first moment there were thoughts in my head that this was not her plane. Yes, this cannot be! This is not her flight. There is more than one flight, and it’s not about her at all. Then I called her husband, since he also works in the Ministry of Emergency Situations and knows everything. Then those terrible hours of waiting, which turned into days. My daughter's husband was there from the very beginning to the end - he was replaced at work. I couldn’t go to Pulkovo - I don’t even know how I survived. My dad went and took a DNA test.

Actually, I still don’t believe it. It seems to me that this is not about her, she is somewhere and simply cannot return yet.

The first moment when the lists appeared, she was not on them... It’s hard to remember. Even though we knew that our loved ones were on that plane, every day we waited for news whether we were on the lists of those identified. This is the worst thing when, having lost a loved one, you cannot even bury the remains so that you can come and venerate them.

Hope faded away gradually, but it did not fade away, I am still waiting for my daughter. It seems to me that someday this terrible dream will end. Therefore, when I do something now, it seems to me that this is not about us, not about our family, not about our daughter. This simply cannot be, she could not leave us with dad.

She was very caring and worried about our health. She didn’t even want to live separately from us when she got married. She had a dream to build her own house, in one half of which we would live, in the other - she and her husband.

She was very positive and goal oriented. She was always in a hurry, always on the move, driving quickly. Speed ​​in general meant a lot to her. She was always late for something because she had a lot of plans. I wanted to master everything and as quickly as possible. I took a motorcycle driving course. She and my dad had a dream, secret from me: they wanted to buy a good motorcycle for both of them.

She was feminine, but with a masculine character. I never whined, I tried my best weaknesses hide. She was strong. And I tried to help everyone as much as I could. Relatives came to us from Donetsk, from the demarcation line. With three children, they fled from this war. She took upon herself all the care of these children. Just before flying on vacation, she became the godmother of the little girl Anastasia. She said that now she will also have to think about her children. I really wanted to have my own children. This was her dream because two years ago she lost her twins due to premature birth.

But then she planned to entrust the children to me and work - she wanted to reach certain heights in her profession. She told her father: “Dad, you are the major, and I will be the general!” She liked her job. It’s my dad and I’s pride that we raised her to be a real person.

“We have a lot of caring people”

The first emotions of people who have lost their loved ones are shock, tears, and non-acceptance of what happened. Then - identification in the morgue of the few who could be identified visually. Then there is the painfully long wait for the results of DNA testing of those whose remains could not be identified. For some relatives, this nightmare is still not over - six victims of the disaster have still not been identified. Their relatives hope for the results of the latest genetic examinations.

In total there are about 200 unidentified body fragments.

“The Egyptian services have remains that were found during the laying out of the plane. When they are transferred to the Investigative Committee, a genetic examination will be carried out. We are waiting for its results to understand whether we have the right to bury the existing remains,” Zakharova explained. The relatives of the victims intend to bury all unidentified remains in a mass grave.

Irina Evgenievna noted the support of caring townspeople in the first mournful days; human solidarity continues to be felt to this day.

“This deserves a huge amount of gratitude. In the first days, we saw how people rallied and worried. Until now, those who knew our dead relatives are always with us. The graves are always buried in flowers, and candles are burning, people come constantly. It is great happiness that we have many caring people. I think it was stressful for everyone at first. Anyone could find themselves in this situation. At Pulkovo, a plane takes off and lands every 10-15 minutes. So many people use this type of transport every day, so many people use other modes of transport. Terrorism has no borders. At that moment, people were shocked, and everyone tried this situation on themselves. Therefore, everyone was very scared and in pain,” added Irina Zakharova.

According to her, the relatives of the victims communicated on social networks in the first months to exchange the slightest new information. After most of the funeral was completed, people gathered to decide what they planned to do in memory of their loved ones. At the very first meeting, the idea of ​​​​building a temple was expressed. It will be built at the intersection of Matisov and the Dudergof Canal on the territory of the Baltic Pearl microdistrict in the Krasnoselsky district of St. Petersburg. The future rector of the Church of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica, in memory of the victims of the A321 disaster, Father Sergei lost his friend in this tragedy.

As Irina Zakharova says,

“the temple will contain a small atrium, where the names of our loved ones, possibly photographs, will be placed”

“A lot of children were left without parents. They will be able to come there. We want to build a house for 224 souls and their relatives. So that this house can live a full life. This will be the best memory of our loved ones. Because it will include not only the memory of them, but also care for the living,” added the interlocutor of the REGNUM news agency.

On the morning of October 31 at 05:50 local time (06:50 Moscow time), the plane, flying flight 7K-9268 of the Russian airline Kogalymavia, took off from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg. 23 minutes after takeoff, when the plane reached a height of 9.4 thousand meters, an explosive device went off in the tail section. The plane split in two, the cabin depressurized and the systems completely shut down - the airliner rushed down. Two minutes after the explosion, the plane crashed to the ground at high speed in the central part of the Sinai Peninsula. All 224 people on board, including 25 children, were killed. Three hours after the crash, the local affiliate of the Islamic State* claimed responsibility for the attack.

  • Airplane wreckage
  • Reuters

« The magical land took them for itself"

Irina Barinova lost three loved ones in the disaster: her cousin Lyubov Mozgina with her one-year-old daughter Alisa and mother Galina Zamolotova were returning from vacation to St. Petersburg.

“Lyuba dreamed of showing Alice the country that she herself was madly in love with,” says Irina. “She and her mother were so happy that Alice would see a magical land where there was the Red Sea, the sun, and the pyramids. But fairyland took them for myself."

According to Irina, Lyubov was not used to counting on anyone other than herself in life: she worked hard, bought a car and an apartment in St. Petersburg.

“Lyuba herself is from the Novgorod region, she graduated from school there and in 1993 came to go to college in St. Petersburg. A simple girl from the village, she studied and worked seven days a week. She spent days and nights preparing, always drawing something. In the morning it’s college, and in the evening and on weekends it’s work. She tried to achieve everything herself and really wanted to help her parents.”

After graduation, Lyubov got a job at a construction company as an estimator, but most of all she wanted to work at Lenenergo. “She sent her resume there and did not expect to receive an invitation to an interview, but her dream came true! Recent years In her life, Lyuba worked at Lenenergo and was in good standing with the management,” recalls Irina.

RT’s interlocutor told how in 2013 she and Lyubov managed to relax in Lazarevskoye: “We walked together, swam in the sea, and then Lyuba said that she would soon become a mother. It was such a joy - beyond words! Lyuba knew from the first day that it would be a girl, and from the first day she called her by name - Alisa. All the pain in my soul cannot be expressed in words. I still can't believe it. All we can do is love them and miss them."

“Who would have thought that this was the last time I would see them?”

The tragedy over Sinai took away Galina Panchenko’s only daughter, 23-year-old Vlada, and her husband Ilya Sakerin. “They met in 2010, when Vlada graduated from school, and since then they have never been apart. They organized their own wedding and were truly happy. The three of us lived, and even with three cats - Vlada and Ilya loved animals very much. They were fond of fishing, often traveled to Karelia and even brought me fish. We rode bicycles from St. Petersburg to Lomonosov - and this is quite a distance. They were so happy about life, dreamed of buying an apartment, planned to have children.”

  • Reuters

This trip to Egypt was the third for the young Sakerin family. They went on vacation for only a week - they were in a hurry to get back in time for Vlada’s father’s birthday. Galina then accompanied the children to the airport. “Who would have thought that I would see them for the last time,” she laments.

Galina could not stay in her homeland after what happened - everything reminded her of the dead children. The decision to move to the United States permanently was not easy.

“I was left completely alone. I still can't come to terms with this. Unbearable pain. Every day I wake up and go to sleep thinking about them.”

  • Airbus A321 wreckage
  • RIA Novosti

Experience the pain together

Irina Zakharova and her husband lost their only daughter in the disaster. Elvira Voskresenskaya was 28 years old.

“I can’t say about my daughter that she was. For me, she is my daughter. She was a long-awaited beloved child. The father, being a career military man, dreamed all his life about his son as the continuer of his path. When his daughter was born, at first he was somewhat disappointed, but then, already in adulthood, he was inspired and realized that his daughter became the continuer of his whole life and all his endeavors. She chose a university associated with military service and put on shoulder straps. This year she was supposed to receive the rank of major. For my father and me, she was the center of the universe. We lived by her interests, and she — ours", — Irina says, holding back tears with difficulty.

A year ago, relatives and friends of those killed in a plane crash over Sinai united in a group on a social network in which they exchanged information about the progress of the investigation and supported each other. The organizer of the group was Alexander Voitenko. On board the Airbus 321 was his older sister Irina with her daughter Alisa.

“I realized that I cannot remain silent about what happened, I cannot keep it to myself and suffer within myself. I decided to tell everyone about how I feel and what is happening around this disaster. It was possible to unite not only relatives, but also sympathizers. We created a group on the social network, which currently has more than 36 thousand people. This is already a big family, a whole movement.”

  • Reuters

The group of united relatives eventually grew into the Flight 9268 charitable foundation.

“After all the funerals were over, we met for the first time in January. I remember there were about 30 of us, — recalls Alexander Voitenko, who became the executive director of the Flight 9268 Foundation. — We immediately decided that we needed our own charitable foundation to solve legal issues related to donations. It was necessary to structure the needs.”

Irina Zakharova became chairman of the foundation's board. When asked why she decided to engage in charitable activities, Irina, the director of a school in St. Petersburg, replies:

“It’s very difficult to understand why I was doing this because I felt like I wouldn’t survive. But it turned out that I not only survived, but also became involved in the activities of the foundation. It means that I haven’t accomplished something in my life yet, since I got this.”

Irina talks about how difficult it is to come to terms with the loss of loved ones: “I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, whether I will be alive. Over the past year, six people, relatives of the victims, have died, mostly due to heart attacks.”

  • RIA Novosti

Flight 9268 cooperates with other organizations - for example, with the Interrupted Flight Foundation, which was organized 10 years ago in memory of those killed in the crash of the airliner on the Anapa-St. Petersburg flight on August 22, 2006.

“We are planning to conduct a mass burial of remains that cannot be identified. Now they are in the city crematorium,” says Irina. “The examination confirmed that among these remains there is a piece of each passenger on the plane, but they are so mixed that it is almost impossible to separate. We collect signatures from loved ones agreeing to the burial. It will be very difficult to go through a second funeral.”

  • Figures of cranes at a memorial event for the victims of the plane crash over the Sinai in the Peter and Paul Fortress
  • RIA Novosti

Irina and Alexander said that the foundation plans to build a temple in St. Petersburg, inside of which there will be an atrium with photographs of the victims of the plane crash.

Kristina Oleneva, Yulia Gureeva, Maria Bukharova

  • Anniversary of the Sinai tragedy: relatives of the dead passengers remember their loved ones

* “Islamic State” is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.

 

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